Ward 32

Welcome Video

Specialities

Number of beds

Patient age range

Telephone

Profile of the ward

The cardiac ward is a 16-bedded unit. Patients between the ages
of 0-18 are admitted for investigation, assessment and treatment of
cardiac conditions or for management of other conditions, which may
impact on their cardiac status. They are usually admitted via
outpatient clinics, Paediatric Intensive Care (PICU), Special Care
Baby Unit (SCBU), Accident and Emergency (A & E) or transferred
from other hospitals in the South West of England and Wales.

Philosophy of the ward

The philosophy of care is based on the knowledge that all
children require holistic, family centred care within a safe and
child friendly environment. We believe that families are the
experts in the care of their children and are entitled to
appropriate education, support and encouragement to enable them to
deliver that care.

Care is planned jointly with nursing staff, the family and the
multi-disciplinary team. We aim to maintain close contact with
other departments such as intensive care, cardiac catheter lab and
theatres in order to promote communication and continuity of care
and to provide a seamless service during a child's stay in
hospital. We work closely with Paediatric Community Teams, health
visitors, District General Hospitals and GPs.

The nursing team

The nursing team comprises the ward manager and a team of
qualified nurses and nursing assistants. A cardiac clinical nurse
specialist is ward based and works closely with the team along with
the cardiac liaison nurses. Full time and part time staff work a
mixture of 12 hour and traditional shifts, with internal rotation
to night duty.

The multi-disciplinary team

As well as the cardiac clinical nurse specialist and the cardiac
liaison nurses, we work closely with other health care
professionals. A play specialist, physiotherapist, dietician,
cardiac technicians, pharmacist and social worker are attached to
the ward and we have input from the acute pain nurse specialist and
midwives as needed.

Medical staff

At present we have six full time consultant cardiologists
in Bristol and three in Cardiff.

Currently the consultant cardiologists are:

Bristol

Dr Rob Martin

Dr Alison Hayes

Dr Andy Tometzki

Dr Graham Stuart

Dr Beverly Tsai-Goodman

Dr Rob Tulloh

Cardiff

Dr Dirk Wilson

Dr Obed Onuzo

Dr Orhan Uzon

We have four registrars, three of which are career
cardiologists, and the other a paediatric registrar doing a
cardiology post. We have two SHOs, and one Fellow (Senior SHO).

Shift patterns

The nursing staff work a variety of shift patterns.

The early shift report commences at 07:30 and the shift
finishes at 15:30.

The late shift report commences at 12:00 midday and the shift
finishes at 20:00. There is a 15-minute paid coffee break and a
30-minute unpaid break on these shifts.

Night shift report commences at 19:30 and the shift finishes at
08:00. This shift includes two 30 minute unpaid breaks and a 10
minute paid break.

Parent information

There is a wide variety of information available to parents and
carers. This ranges from a video which can be sent to parents prior
to admission, which shows a patient journey through the hospital,
and introduces you to some staff and answers some common questions.
As well as information leaflets on specific cardiac problems and
discharge information. There are also a number of staff available
to deal with specific questions, from cardiac liaison nurses to
social workers.

Accommodation

There is a fold down bed for parents at the side of each child's
bed. There is only one per family, though the other parent can be
accommodated in Ronald MacDonald House, which is found on Royal
Fort road (take left immediately before old children's hospital).
If there are no rooms available, there are local B&Bs and
hotels, which the family would have to pay for them selves. We do,
however, try to keep the families together, especially before
surgery, and would allow a second parent to stay on the ward, but
unless we are extremely quiet, could only offer them a comfortable
chair to sleep in. If the family wish to bring siblings,
grandparents or other carers, there are family rooms in Ronald
MacDonald House.

Students

As a teaching hospital we accommodate a wide variety of
learners, from nursing and medical students, to nursery nurse and
cardiac technician students.

Outreach team

There is a group of nurses who support the care of high
dependency patients in all clinical areas within the directorate.
They are available for both clinical and theoretical support as
required.